Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Own up - how many of you are obsessed with the weather ?

24th Dec 2013
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Actually the question should have read "...weather elsewhere" . It is a very British thing to discuss the weather and indeed a useful ice breaker at any event . What I struggle to comprehend is why we have live feeds on the weather disruption in places we never go to and have no intention of ever visiting.

Is it part of the need to know everything about everyone ?  It is symptomatic of something gone wrong with the thinking man and woman . Apart form the irrelevance of such news just think how much time we waste dipping in and out the live reporting - for what ? Satisfaction of some innermost visceral requirement to see how bad everybody else is having it and feeling relieved that we have been spared ?

It's howling a gale but the sun is out outside - would you like to know from where these lines are being typed ?

Tags:

You might also be interested in

Replies (21)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By High Octane
24th Dec 2013 10:50

We are very lucky

I always take great comfort from the fact that our weather is relatively benign compared to what others cope with.  I have a close friend in Canada who tells me that in the last 48 hours they have had 5 feet (yes FEET) of snow fall.  Now that really is a “white Christmas”.  It rather puts the occasional sprinkling we get into context.

What amazes me is that these countries cope with horrendous snow falls, freezing temperatures (as low as -30) and tornadoes, yet a slight sprinkling of snow or a stiff breeze brings Britain to a halt.

Thanks (0)
Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
avatar
By User deleted
24th Dec 2013 11:20

Dead herring

High Octane wrote:

 

What amazes me is that these countries cope with horrendous snow falls, freezing temperatures (as low as -30) and tornadoes, yet a slight sprinkling of snow or a stiff breeze brings Britain to a halt.

What amazes me is that people are amazed by the fact that countries that spend a good part of their year under several layers of snow and ice have the equipment and infrastructure to deal with their climate. If I knew that I wouldn't be able to see tarmac for 4 or 5 months, I'd have a set of chains or studded tyres fitted to my car. Unfortunately our bad weather comes and goes so the measures that those other countries take simply aren't practical here. People should pay less attention to the tabloids.

Thanks (0)
Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
Routemaster image
By tom123
25th Dec 2013 11:42

Hear Hear

High Octane wrote:

I always take great comfort from the fact that our weather is relatively benign compared to what others cope with.  I have a close friend in Canada who tells me that in the last 48 hours they have had 5 feet (yes FEET) of snow fall.  Now that really is a “white Christmas”.  It rather puts the occasional sprinkling we get into context.

What amazes me is that these countries cope with horrendous snow falls, freezing temperatures (as low as -30) and tornadoes, yet a slight sprinkling of snow or a stiff breeze brings Britain to a halt.

Hear Hear ref Canada. In the job I just finished, I used to travel to Ottawa in January - minus 30 usually. Some very pleasant evenings spent in downtown 'Irish' pubs looking out on feet of snow. They do have the equipment though - snow clearers a bit like combine harvesters roam the streets.

My new job is just UK based - so I will miss my Canadian trips.

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
24th Dec 2013 10:57

Snow

A blizzard has just passed through where I am in Cumbria and it was a sight to behold as it moved throuhg the valley below.

Places liek Canada have it so regularly everybody and I mean everybody invests in the tools to get thorugh it , where our snow is a bit washy washy , just like the state of the country as a whole , so there is no real widespread spending save for a few gritting lorries , or as they now call them "spreading" lorries . I assume the change is some sort of PC move for fear of offending people who cannot afford to grit their paths

Thanks (0)
John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
24th Dec 2013 11:06

A combination of factors

Part of it is lazy journalism, I admit - a couple of phone calls and a few library shots, and you can stir up all sorts of panic with a dramatic front page.

After it hits, you can send a few brave souls out into the chaos and get gripping images and interviews with people who've been through hell - and everyone not affected will identify with the situation and count themselves lucky for escaping the worst.

But even just travelling a few miles to meet friends last night was an adventure here in Sussex, and somewhat crazily millions of people set out on long journeys to see family at this time of year. So the combination of the severity of the storm and the Christmas holiday do intensify its impact.

The people I really feel for are those out at sea. The waves in Brighton are monstrous and I heard Force 12 winds mentioned in the shipping forecast - I didn't know there was a force 12. (I once read that a newscaster who reads the forecast said she started to really worry about people when she got to force 10).

The storm has eased off here in Sussex on the morning of Christmas eve, but another one seems to be on the way, with yet another queuing up to hit us by Thursday-Friday.

Since I'm planning to fly up to Glasgow for hogmanay, I'm definitely taking a much bigger interest in the 10-day forecast.

I also think the weather is getting more volatile everywhere - Caribbean hurricanes, Pacific typhoos like the one that hit the Phillippines this year, and our own blizzards in previous years, followed by mild winter periods and now this year's string of super rainstorms and floods. I think there is a message for all of us here, and I think the extra attention that news organisations and social media devote to the subject may reflect a growing concern about climate change.

In the meantime, I sincerely hope that all our members make it safely to wherever they are going over the holiday period. If it's too dangerous to travel, remember you can spend your time safely indoors with us (power lines permitting), chatting on AccountingWEB. Or perhaps more productively, doing tax return work.

 

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
24th Dec 2013 11:29

Tyres for bad weather

I purchased "all weather" tyres a while back and they served me will in a proper winter a couple of years back , although studded tyres woudl no doubt have been even better . I think a few marques now offer free storage for yoru winter tyres , I wonder how many people take them up on the offer ....

Thanks (0)
By ShirleyM
24th Dec 2013 12:12

Not worth getting upset about

Unless, maybe, we start getting deep snow more frequently, I certainly wouldn't buy special snow tyres for the rare occasion I may actually use them.

I am lucky that I don't have far to travel, and could work from home for a short while, if need be.

I guess those living out in the wilds where the gritters never appear may need to take more precautions, but they are not among the majority of road users.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By majabl
24th Dec 2013 15:18

It's not just infrastructure/preparation that make the difference in the colder, snowier countries. It also helps that when it snows there what falls tends to stays as snow, rather than falling, melting, refreezing, melting, washing away the salt and grit, refreezing, and thawing completely, or some variation thereof.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By High Octane
24th Dec 2013 15:40

Wildlife

Of course where my friend lives they do have other "side effects" of winter, such as taking rubbish to the bin only to find a bear rummaging through it. Disturbing a hungry Grizzly is not quite the same thing as disturbing the neighbourhood fox.

Thanks (0)
By ShirleyM
24th Dec 2013 16:03

Hungry grizzly?

That reminds me of the hungry polar bears who stray into villages. We had a 'Polar Bear' on here once, and a Santa Claus, and a few other Christmas themed names.

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
24th Dec 2013 16:35

Bears

It's funny how bears are associated with cuddly toys , when given half the chance a real one would gobble up the kid who likes to clutch the stuffed variety

Weatherwise my problem is with ice and slush as mentioned above. I walk a few miles a day but in these conditions it becomes safer to drive. I to have crampons which are great until you come to patch of clear pavement or try crossing the road. It's the same problem of having a snow chain just a wee bit more environmentally friendly 

 

Thanks (0)
By ShirleyM
24th Dec 2013 16:45

Bears eating people?

I think more people are killed by the hand of man, than by wild animals.

The thread is turning into something depressing now ... and it's Christmas. Instead of stories about grizzly bears lets talk about reindeer with red noses. :)

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
25th Dec 2013 01:07

I am English ...

... of course I am.

What I think is not reported in those countries that deal with high snowfalls etc. is that they don't expect to drive to work as normal in a blizzard, you wait for it to pass and then clear the roads railways etc.

I am sure Canada, Alpine areas etc. do loose working days for extreme weather, it is just not reported about as it is part of life. We in the UK seem to be almost alone in our expectation to be able to do what we want when we like and seem affronted when nature makes us change our plans

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
25th Dec 2013 12:31

British weather

I suspect we are one of the few countries that can have 4 seasons in a single day , but we still fail to appreciate that extremes happen and that it is out of man's hands to stop it. The inability to control one's destiny must bug a lot of people badly, after all , there is so much that technology can do for us but when it comes to the climate we are mere observers.

Will the next generation be used to the climate changes and no longer be obsesses with the weather ?

 

 

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
27th Dec 2013 11:45

Was it not Billy Connolly that once said ...

... while the rest of the world has a climate, the UK has weather.

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
27th Dec 2013 12:05

Billy Connolly

I have heard that but didn't know it was him . It is indeed a very clever observation .

Reminds me of the saying in Cumbria that there is no such thing as bad weather , only inappropriate clothing

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
27th Dec 2013 12:31

Billy Conolly also said...
... when the scots go on holiday they have to go for two weeks, it take
the first week to go from blue to white

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
03rd Jan 2014 14:26

Scottish weather

You may well laugh but vitamin D deficiency is an issue north of the border - I  had it !

It's one of those things finally making it onto he health agenda and I am surprised Alex Salmond isn't offering free sunshine for pensioners as part of his ego trip referendum

Thanks (0)
By The 5-50 Coach
04th Jan 2014 10:38

But if we weren't obsessed by the weather what would we talk about?

Isn't it bad enough that conversations are stilted in this country (weather or football). If you took one of those away I'd have to watch football to be able to join in conversations 

Thanks (0)
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
04th Jan 2014 19:16

Weather , footie or....

You could always talk about house prices or the economy if absolutely really pressed to make conversation

Although I don't have any interest in football these days I do keep abreast of the main events so if necessary I can make ac omment if that is the topic .

I do admit to following Scotland's international progress but that's quite an easy task....

Thanks (0)
Replying to PAMDILL:
By The 5-50 Coach
05th Jan 2014 08:01

Oh yes, house prices, that other British staple of non discussion :)

Thanks (0)